Iskall tried to catch Cub that night. They really did. They blamed the girl who fell from the sky.
It happened around midnight. Iskall woke up to a loud splash. They had been getting some rest in the smaller clearing nearby. The river nearby had some sort of flailing thing in the water. Iskall grabbed their small pack, leaving their sleeping bag and spare arrows, and ran towards the sound.
So, someone just fell from a high place and landed in the river. Totally normal.
Most of the people jumped up from their slumber and ran over to the river. Iskall edged back into the trees and watched the scene from a safe distance.
The man with a white sweater and black jeans reached the river first. A girl Iskall hadn't seen earlier that day was lying down next to the river, coughing up water and soaking wet. After a bit, most of the others had gone back to sleep, probably too tired to deal with the situation, including Cub.
You didn't need to be an intellectual to figure out that this group was used to weird things. First, the shaking and cracks that literally carved a hole through the earth, and now the girl who fell from the sky like a freaking Icarus.
Iskall waited for the last two people to finish the conversation. They couldn't quite hear their words, but it seemed to have deteriorated into a yelling match. The girl stormed off, clothes still slightly damp, kicking a shining diamond sword to the side.
The problem was, she was walking towards Iskall.
Iskall froze, their brain not quite computing what was happening. Too late, they moved to hide behind the trees.
The girl had keen eyes and sharp reflexes. "Who's there?"
Nope. They were caught. Iskall quietly stepped out into the open, into the other clearing.
The man with the sweater, who had been watching the girl stalk off, hadn't gone to sleep. His eyes widened. "Two people in one night?"
The girl scoffed under her breath and continued walking away.
The man approached Iskall and held out a hand. Despite what had happened earlier, he tried for a smile. "I'm Bdubs! I know you probably have a lot of questions..."
"Actually, just one," Iskall said, trying to look friendly while holding a lethal bow of doom. They gestured to the sleeping group nearby. "Why is there so much diversity in this group? Not to be mean, but this is a pretty odd group. What's the connection here?"
When Iskall was observing the group that afternoon, they had spotted a female zombie who had wanted to kill Mumbo for some reason, some sort of weird metal Creeper hybrid, and Tiara Girl, who looked pretty normal, had ice powers. They didn't seem to have anything in common, unless they were all Cub's experiments.
"Well, we all got here in our own weird ways. That girl, False, she fell from the sky. So did I. I could tell you all about it, but I'm assuming you're tired."
Iskall shook their head. They was genuinely curious. So these people got here differently. How about Cub? Had he stumbled upon this clearing before? "I'm intrigued. Tell me more."
Bdubs led them to sit by the river, as to not disturb anyone. "Okay. Most of us remember a portal of some sort. Xisuma came from the End dimension. Stress and Wels went through a portal lined with ice. Grian's pretty vague with his, but he came through a portal made of Watcher magic. Mumbo literally made a rip between two worlds!" He continued talking, and Iskall zoned out for a bit. Then, they heard the word Cub, and he perked up.
"What was that last one?"
"Uh, Cub and Scar?"
"Yeah."
"Oh, they came through a Vex portal. It's kind of hard to explain, but both have some connection to the Vex. I'm making it sound like a cult. It's not, I swear...not to my knowledge..."
Iskall knew little about the Vex. They knew it was a monster in woodland mansions and was very dangerous. People having a connection to something like that? Out of context, it would have seemed insane. Here, with all the other stories? It fit right in.
Where did Iskall land here? A hitman who wasn't even supposed to be here? They were going off course. After this job was done, they'd have to leave.
"I should go to bed." Iskall started getting up, then realized they didn't have his sleeping bag with them. They didn't want to run back to his small camp to get it. Bdubs might get suspicious. They looked back at Bdubs. "Do you..."
"Spare wool? Yeah, I got some." Bdubs ran over to a nearby crafting table and tossed Iskall a hastily made green sleeping bag. "Just make sure you know which one is yours. I made it green, just in case...it kind of seems like your favorite color." He glanced at Iskall's camo green shirt and small green bag.
"Yeah, thanks," Iskall said, not sure how to respond to the sudden gesture of kindness.
"I'm sorry, I'll leave you to it." Bdubs started backing away. "Feel free to find a space in the clearing to set up. See you in the morning!"
Iskall watched Bdubs walk over to his own blue sleeping bag. They were tempted to go back to their old camp and grab their other stuff, but they were paranoid that Bdubs was still watching. Plus, they had a new sleeping bag...
They found a spot near the river to set down their bow and pack. They mentally scolded themself. What am I going to do now? They could always do the job from the inside, but they'd definitely have to leave after that.
And...they kind of didn't want to.
They'd made a mistake in befriending Bdubs immediately. That would make it harder, and someone could easily put two and two together and figure out Iskall was behind this. Even though this led them off course, it did give Iskall a bit of insight.
If the rest of the group was just as nice as Bdubs, was it really worth it to do this? Everyone in this group seemed so tightly packed. Bdubs had already welcomed Iskall so kindly. If Iskall picked off one person in the group, how would they react?
In the end, were they really doing the right thing?
(WC: 1075)